Painless Laser Needle Acupuncture

Afraid of needles? Try Non-Needle Cold-Laser Acupuncture!

Cold laser acupuncture is one of the best options for these people who are afraid or sensitive because it is completely pain-free and and effective.  It is especially useful for infants, children, chronically sick, the elderly, or the extremely sensitive patient. 

Is Laser Acupuncture really pain-free and safe? 

The low-power laser beam produces no sensation of pain, no heat and does no harm to the skin, even injured areas can be safely treated.  People don’t often even feel the laser.  In addition, the laser can be used on areas that are very sensitive or inappropriate for traditional needle based acupuncture.

What is the history of laser acupuncture?

“Laser” is an acronym for “Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.” Lasers were developed in the 1950s and health care experiments started in the 1960s.  Between 1970 and 1972 research reports on successful therapies of hypertension and asthma with laser body acupuncture in the USSR were published.  Then in the 1980s laser began to be used in acupuncture.  In 2001, the first “laser needles” were invented at the University of Paderborn in Germany making them available to practitioners.

How does it work?

The laser light penetrates the 3 main layers of the skin; the epidermis, dermis, and subcutaneous layers.  Along its path the laser deposits photons into the cells. Nerve stimulation is pretty immediate. Within a short time micro-circulation is improved thus bringing increased oxygen and blood flow to the area stimulated by the laser. In addition, in 1991 a study in Russia showed that the laser light actually travelled through the acupuncture meridian pathways and penetrated more deeply in the acupuncture points than in non-acupuncture points.  This sort of resembles a fiber optic network.  Brain imaging also resembles needle acupuncture when doing brain imaging.

What does it treat?

The laser light also seems to block pain enzymes and activates the synthesis of endorphin enzymes.  Laser light has also been shown in research to regenerate cells, decrease pain, reduce inflammation, improve circulation, and even stimulate hair growth to name a just few.  Further studies have also shown that laser acupuncture can be beneficial for treating pain, post-operative nausea, weight loss, bedwetting, hiccups, dry eyes, stroke-related paralysis, carpal tunnel, and even anesthesia.

This is Not your laser pointer.

We use  5mW class 3A lasers.  A 635nm red laser, which is the wave length that the body’s cells produce, to treat most of our acupuncture points and a 532 green laser to treat soft tissue injuries.  Laser pointers are generally in the 650nm range and are not shown to have a therapeutic effect.

We have recently been using laser more and more with good effect here in our clinic.